Being ignored
by Aggie Deneys
Summary: With the return of Barry Allen/Flash, Wally West/Flash wonders about his place in the world. Is he still the Flash?


Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.

Wally West, aka the Flash…or at least he thought he was still the Flash. Some would argue that the jury was still out on that. Ever since Barry had returned, things had been in flux. As more time passed, things were becoming murkier rather than clearer. Wally found his mind continually turning to one question – who was the Flash? He hoped the next few minutes would clear up his confusion. He pounded on the back door.

Iris Allen looked out the window before opening the door. A smile appeared on her face. "Wally! This is a surprise. What-"

"Is Barry here?" he demanded. He was being rude. He knew it, but at the moment he didn't care. Iris' smile didn't falter. She opened the door wider to let her nephew inside. Wally saw his uncle seated at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.

"Wally," Barry Allen, aka the Flash, greeted, "what brings you-"

Wally slapped the newspaper on the kitchen table and pointed to the lead article. Seeing the article this morning had caused his blood pressure to rise. He had barely finished reading the article before standing on the Allens' doorstep. "Care to explain?"

Sensing a battle to come, Iris kissed first her nephew and then her husband on the cheek. "Remember, you are both adults now." With that, she grabbed her purse, car keys and cup of coffee and headed out the door.

Barry waited until the door closed before turning his attention back to his nephew. Iris had warned him this might happen. He had hoped she would be wrong. He should have known better. When it came to understanding her nephew, Iris was never wrong. "Care for a cup of coffee?"

"No, but I'd like an explanation." Wally waved his hand toward the article. "How? Why?" He felt his frustration building. It didn't help that Barry sat calmly at the table. It didn't help that Barry didn't seem to be surprised to see him. Wally regrouped his thoughts. The article had described how the Flash had taken on not only the Rogues everyone knew, but also some rogues from the future. "Why didn't you call for help? It's not like there's a shortage of speedsters around! You didn't even call the League!"

Barry sighed and pushed his own cup of coffee to the side. He had read the article. He had known it was coming. Iris was the reporter. She had encouraged him to call Wally and Jay after all that had happened to provide an explanation, to allay any fears or worries they may have had. He hadn't. It hadn't seemed necessary at the time. The article stated the facts succinctly. Everything had been resolved. But now, his nephew stood before him. Barry could see Wally was barely holding onto his temper. At least some things had remained the same while he was gone. Wally always did have a temper. Barry shrugged. "I just didn't think of it. It didn't seem necessary."

"Not necessary?" Wally stared at Barry in shock. "Captain Boomerang broke out of Iron Heights! You were taking on, what, ten rogues? There were innocent bystanders!"

"Don't you think I didn't consider all that?" Barry felt his own irritation starting to grow. "Wal-"

Years of listening to Dick vent about Bruce suddenly came to mind. How Dick felt Bruce ignored him. How Dick felt Bruce didn't appreciate Dick's skills. How Bruce never ever seemed to ask for help, or if he did, it was only because it truly was the last possible option. He could finally relate to his best friend's frustrations. He never would have thought he would be in this position. "I…I…" He was so angry he was actually speechless. He ran his hand through his hair. "Damn it, Barry!"

"Wally, please, sit down." Barry knew he needed to keep the cool head. He hoped Wally would sit. After a few seconds, his nephew did, though he refused to meet his uncle's gaze. Barry took a deep breath, searching for the right words to say. "Wally, I honestly didn't think of it." When Wally appeared ready to protest some more, Barry held up his hand. Wally remained silent. "Things were happening so fast. They had accused me of murder, and then they had threatened Iris. I-"

The chair crashed to the floor as Wally sprung to his feet. "What! Iris was in danger? How could-"

Damn. He had forgotten how protective Wally could be of his aunt. At the same time, though, he felt irked. Wally should have known that he would never do anything to hurt Iris, that Iris' safety would always be paramount in his mind. "Wally, that's enough!" So much for keeping his cool. He saw the surprised look on his nephew's face. Had he ever yelled at Wally before? He must have, even though he couldn't recall a single instance offhand.

Barry ran a hand through his short blond hair. As he did it, he realized it was a trait Wally had picked up. "She was threatened, but nothing came of it. It's over and done with. I should have contacted you. Or Jay. Or both of you. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. But you know how fast things happen when you're in the heat of the moment. You focus on what you need to do. I knew I could handle it."

Wally looked at his uncle closely. He heard the sincerity in Barry's words. And it wasn't ego that kept Barry from asking for help. Wally knew that. Barry knew his limitations. If things could get out of hand, Barry wouldn't hesitate to ask for help. Obviously, his uncle had had everything under control. He hadn't been ignored on purpose. Yet, that knowledge didn't make him feel any better.

With a sigh, he took an empty cup from the cupboard and filled it with coffee. He righted the chair and sat back down. The anger had faded. Now he was filled with resignation. "I guess I knew that, but seeing it in print, knowing I'm less than a second away, it hurt. I just…" Wally paused. There were so many things he wanted to say. When he was younger, he knew he could tell Barry or Iris anything and not be judged. And he had. He inwardly cringed at some of the things he had told them over the years. Looking back, he realized how ridiculous some of it had been. Never once, though, had either of them laughed. Never once had either of them made him feel like he was wasting their time.

He knew that was still true, but he also knew what he wanted to say would make him sound like a whiny kid. Realizing he had nothing to lose, he took a deep breath before revealing what was really bothering him, what was filling him with self doubt. "You probably haven't noticed, but since your return, no one contacts me anymore. Boomerang breaks out of Iron Heights, chaos in Central City, and I don't even hear about it. Even the League doesn't contact me anymore."

Barry didn't hide his surprise. "I didn't know." Why would everyone suddenly ignore Wally? Wally had more than proven himself capable. Wally had done – could do – things that Barry couldn't do. Why would everyone ignore him? In particular, why would the League do that? It made no sense. He was more than busy trying to reestablish his civilian life, reconnecting with Iris and the rest of the speedster clan, and just catching up on life in general. A little downtime would be greatly appreciated.

Wally tightly clasped the cup of coffee between his hands. "I…" A pained smile appeared. "It's stupid to admit, but I just…I just wonder where I fit anymore." It was similar to the feeling he had felt a few years earlier when he had thought Barry had returned. Time had revealed that that "Barry" was actually Eobard Thawne, the man who had eventually become Professor Zoom, the man who had eventually killed Iris, the man whom Barry had eventually killed. Before learning the man was really Thawne, Wally had been ready to give up being the Flash. Once again, similar thoughts were racing through his mind at times.

"Wally, you're the Flash."

"I'm a Flash," he corrected. "In the eyes of everyone else, you're the Flash." It was a play on semantics, but Wally knew it was how the public, and obviously the League, viewed it. Against his better judgment, he had perused various blogs and websites to get a feel for what people were thinking about the "original" scarlet speedster's reappearance. While he had his supporters, when it came to who should be the Flash, most people supported the "old" or "original" guy. It was obvious they weren't talking about Jay.

Before Barry had "died," Wally had been having second thoughts about whether he wanted to be a superhero. Maintaining a secret identity, basically living two separate lives, resulted in stress and complications. It made having a normal relationship with someone not in the hero business very difficult, at least until that person could be trusted to learn a secret identity. In addition, he had had his health to consider. Using the speed was killing him.

Then Barry had died. Wally had been caught in the Anti-Monitor's beam and cured. Taking up the mantle of the Flash had been a no-brainer. Someone had to keep Barry's memory alive. He had been able to do it. Over the years, though, he had come to enjoy being the Flash and all it entailed. He liked being able to do his part to make the world a better and safer place.

Now Barry was back. Wally was thrilled to be able to see and talk to his uncle again. He didn't feel any animosity toward his uncle. He had always wished Barry were still alive. That wish had come true. He had just never thought about what it would all mean to him – Wally – being the Flash.

Barry sighed. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this. The world was big enough for more than one Flash. Technically, there had always been two, or least two ever since Jay had come out of retirement. In a few years, Bart would outgrow the Kid Flash title and most likely want to be the Flash, too. "You know, when we took kid sidekicks, I don't think any of us were ready to admit that we were training our replacements. It would have meant that we had to admit we could get old, or that we could die. But you – all of you – grew up. I still…at times it's all overwhelming. You're the Flash, a Flash, whatever. You're married, a father. What I remember is a boy who was Kid Flash, who was wondering about his future, who couldn't run anymore without risking his health. I also have a grandson who's taken the name of Kid Flash. I have a niece who's taken the name Impulse."

Wally grimaced. He was still getting used to the idea of another Impulse. He had hoped the entire Impulse legacy – if it could even be called a legacy – had died when Bart had decided to become Kid Flash. Never did he anticipate having to train another Impulse. The fact Impulse was his daughter only made things worse. This time he couldn't foist Impulse off on Max.

Barry noticed the grimace and smiled. "Someday, you or Bart or Max or someone is going to tell me the story behind Impulse. I've gotten the sanitized version. I want to hear what really happened. Even Iris refuses to talk about it." He had hoped the comment would lighten the mood. He had hoped to get at least a small smile out of his nephew. It didn't work.

"Wally, we're both finding our way through this. We'll figure it out. If Hal, John, Guy and Kyle can figure it out, we sure as heck can as well. It's just going to take time."

Before Wally could reply, a beeping noise caught their attention. Barry's League communicator. Wally checked his own. It was silent. Barry didn't miss the dejected look on his nephew's face. Barry hit the button. "Flash here." Wally looked away.

Hal's voice filled the room and told them about the current situation in which the Flash's help would be appreciated. Barry hit the mute button. He looked at Wally. "If you have the time…I really should go into the office today."

"Barry, you don't have to do this to make me feel better. They want you."

"No, they want the Flash. It doesn't matter which one of us is under the cowl. Besides, I really do need to go to the office. My new supervisor, well, he's a bit of a bear."

"Flash, you still there?"

"Just a sec, Hal." Barry looked at Wally. "Wally, I promise you that we'll figure this out. We are both the Flash. I'll talk to the League. There's no reason why you and I can't cover for each other like Hal and John. Then we get the best of both worlds – time as the Flash and time with our families, and the League always has a Flash on duty."

Wally desperately wanted to believe Barry's words. Barry made it all sound so simple, so easy. Reality was never that simple or easy. Yet, Barry did have a way of making things happen. Maybe it would work. Or maybe he was just getting his hopes up to only have them smashed, but that wouldn't be the first time. Besides, he never really had been the-cup-is-half-empty sort of guy. He smiled. "Go to work. I got it."

"The Flash will be there. Coordinate with Wally."

"Sounds good," Hal replied.

Wally's communicator beeped. "Flash here."


End file.
